KNOXVILLE — When Bearden High School senior center Shamarcus “Shaq” Brown made his season debut Friday night, Dec. 7, he entered the game to rousing applause.

Every time he touched the ball, Bulldogs fans went into a frenzy. He responded by scoring nine points, rebounding and making several defensive plays to help Bearden cruise to a 77-21 District 4-AAA victory versus rival Farragut before a packed and boisterous house at BHS.

“It was great to have him back,” BHS head coach Jeremy Parrott said. “He practiced a little bit this week and when he came into the game, he gave us a big lift. He came in and he did Shaq things.”

Brown, who missed Bearden’s first eight games recovering from a football injury, said he was happy to be back on the court for the Bulldogs (7-2 overall, 4-0 in the district).

“It had been a long time since I played (basketball) and it just feels great to be back,” Brown said. “It’s been a while, and it was great to get a win against Farragut. But coach did a good job getting us ready for this game.”

Senior Roman Robinson was one of three Bulldogs to post double figures in scoring (11 points). Ques Glover had a game-high 22 points and Trent Stephney added 11. Tyler Nordin and Kordell Kah each scored eight.

Dillon Atwell did score 11 points for Farragut (2-7, 1-3).

“They started the game with a big run and we let that get into our heads,” Atwell, a freshman guard, said. “We didn’t play well, but we can’t let ourselves be defined by this. We have to bounce back and we have to get better.”